| B.__At least 25% of the total cost of any project must be | funded by the applicant or applicants and at least 10% of | the total cost must be funded from nonpublic sources.__A | single grant may not exceed 20% of the total funds available | to be granted in a given year; and |
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| C.__Information relative to market research or development | activities provided to the commissioner prior to formal | application, included in grant applications or provided to | the commissioner to fulfill reporting requirements is | confidential information and may not be publicly disclosed | by the commissioner as long as: |
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| (1)__The person to whom the information belongs or | pertains has requested that certain information be | designated as confidential; and |
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| (2)__The commissioner has determined that the | information gives the person making the request | opportunity to obtain business or competitive advantage | over another person who does not have access to the | information or will result in loss of business or other | significant detriment to the person making the request | if access is provided to others. |
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| | 4.__Advisory committee.__The commissioner shall establish the | Agricultural Development Committee to evaluate market and | production development grant applications and review project | results. |
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| | Sec. 5. 7 MRSA §§307, 308 and 309, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 402, Pt. | A, §77, are amended to read: |
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| | The commissioner may contract directly with the Agricultural | Experiment Station or the Maine Cooperative Extension Service | University of Maine System for market research, testing new | technologies and for research on pressing, short-term technical | problems related to the production, marketing, storage and | processing of agricultural commodities. |
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| | Funds Interest and funds in the Agricultural Marketing Loan | Fund, establsihed in Title 10, section 1023-J, contributed by | commodity groups, associations or individuals, firms or | organizations for special projects or for competitive technology | transfer agricultural development projects shall must be | deposited in a dedicated account which shall that does not lapse. | Commodity groups, associations or individuals |
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